Lifetime
by inyourname
Summary: Two days, 48 hours, 2880 minutes, 172 800 seconds. He was alone now.


**Hi guys! First AWTR story ever! I hope you enjoy! A**

**quickie I wrote in about an hour! Haha. My plan with this one is to continue throughout the days right after Jamies death up to and maybe a little after her funeral. This movie is one of my favourites, this book is a great one too. No beta, self editing, so please no critisim on the errors! I'll try to spot them myself!**

**Disclaimer: Nicholas Sparks owns this beautiful story, I just enjoy it too much for my own liking. I don't own anything.**

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Landon Carter believed miracles were possible. He truly did. Nothing else could possibly explain how he fell in love with Jamie, how his eyes opened to the world with her presence, how she lasted longer than everyone said she would. Miracles brought him the love of his life, an everlasting beauty imprinted upon him forever. It started like a summer's morning- Jamie's beauty, her voice, her smile, her warm eyes rose in Landon's life like the sun, shining brightly, almost blinding. The time they shared was filled with romance, passion, love, and an internal bond people could barely fathom. Their relationship was sweltering, burning Landon to even think of it. These lonely nights he spent alone in his bed had him damp just thinking about it. What they shared was perfect on so many levels. Little girls dreamed about it, grandmothers wept over it. A cliché love story for the ages- outcast girl and popular boy find love in the most inconvenient of times. Unlike any other love story, their blissful summer day had to end. Just as quickly as she appeared in his life, she set in the horizon meeting gods open arms. Jamie had her final sunset in his arms. Jamie Sullivan-Carter disappeared from right in front of him.

Two days, 48 hours, 2880 minutes, 172 800 seconds. He's practically counting the milliseconds in his head. He hasn't left their bedroom since, still dressed in his bloodstained, plain-white tee shirt with his disheveled, greasy brown hair. He could shower, but erasing the last bit of life he had left of her was not in the agenda. He could hide here. Burrow away from reality, hibernate for the rest of the year- he didn't care, anything to get away from it all. Lying here, alone, on there shared bed, he'd been searching for answers. Would he survive? Could he walk down the streets Jamie had and not think of her? Would he forget her? Move on? Re-marry? Have children? Did a life exist without Jamie's? Better yet, did HE exist without her?

Falling in and out of slumber, he saw her. She occupied every one of his dreams- her beauty outshining any others, her voice singing to him-guiding him. She was angelic, like a vision sent from heaven with her hair slightly curled, her pale skin reflecting light, her lips slightly rosy, dressed in a white dress similar to the one she wore on their wedding day. She comforted him, her kindness and reason radiating from her words even in his dreams. He had her memorized, knew her inside and out. He knew she bit her top lip when she was nervous or when she was keeping a secret, he knew that she thought there was a positive outcome to every situation, he knew that she always used lavender scented lotion before going out, and that she baked banana chocolate chip muffins with a hint of cinnamon before visiting the nursing home. He knew that Jamie Sullivan never belonged in this small town, that she was destined for so much more, but that what she had accomplished in her time was enough to satisfy herself, Landon, and her father. He knew she was a delicate flower, blooming for a season, letting others enjoy her presence, and that she slowly faded with the cold weather. Landon was lucky enough to enjoy her presence, to love her presence, and to absorb her presence while he could. Landon Carter loved Jamie Sullivan with all his being, no matter how little time they had. With this knowledge, he knew he could survive the rest of his lifetime with the dose he got, but being selfish, he couldn't picture not getting more. He wanted to see Jamie swell with their child in her stomach, he wanted to see her drive her kids to soccer practice and ballet, he wanted to wake up every morning to her hovering body over his, to hear her voice lull him to sleep, to hear her say I love you every day. He knew that what he had with Jamie was enough love to keep people running for a lifetime, but Landon Carter was selfish. Landon wanted Jamie forever.

Landon managed to get up enough to use the restroom, get some water, and make his way to retrieve some things from their closet. The minute his foot was over the threshold, Jamie's smell permeated his nose. The strong scent of lavender put him into frenzy. He needed her presence, he needed to hold her. He couldn't breathe without her, couldn't allow his heart to pump his blood any longer. He allowed his memory to pull the most devastating moments of his life from the depths of his mind. He saw Jamie's final smile in his direction, her final I love you. He remembered holding her, feeling her light body fall limp in his strong hands, practically hearing her heart take its last beat. He remembered holding her till they made him give her up, and even then he took his sweet time. He remembered holding her cold, unmoving hands, particularly her left, playing with her simple wedding ring he had placed there only months before. She had never taken it off, not once, not even to do the dishes or scrub the floors. He remembered giving her a final kiss in her last movements, the way her lips felt slow and sluggish. She had no energy, but he intended on showing her how much he loved her one last time. Jamie smiled at him before taking his hand and parting from this world. Her last words leaving her lips like a slight wind. He heard it now, in their closet,

" I love you Landon Carter."

"I love you too Jamie. I always will."

With that final exchange, she disappeared. Landon was a lonely man, a widow. Two days, 48 hours, 2880 minutes, 172 800 seconds. It felt like a lifetime.

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**Hope you liked it! More to come.**

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